To Befriend A Demon Lord
by putu
Summary: Pixy & Cipher. Pixy just realized that his leader is truly a Demon Lord, and trying to find a way to deal with it. Mercenary path spoiler.


Disclaimer: I don't own Ace Combat Zero and make no money out of this story. Please don't sue me.

Recommended music: Nelly Furtado - Dar

To Befriend A Demon Lord

Few days after his first mission as Galm Two, Pixy had regretted calling Cipher "buddy". At first he had no problem with his new partner. The man had gotten good flying skill, and his commands are efficient and easy to follow. Both of them took a great number of enemies together. But as the war went on, Pixy began to feel uncomfortable about his leader.

Like the mission they were doing, they had already destroyed all the designated targets, but Cipher still hang around the air space. "Galm One. Shouldn't we return to the base?" Pixy asked uncertainly. "Just a minute, Galm Two." Then, as if finding something, Cipher turned his plane and flew to the east. Pixy followed his leader's movement and after a while he realized what was it that his leader after. In the direction Cipher was going, a carrier plane was flying, trying to get away from the war zone. "Galm One, isn't that…" his voice faded as two missiles were shot from Cipher's plane, taking down the target without any resistance.

In his mind, Pixy could imagine all sort of hell going on inside that plane. "Cipher!" he shouted. "That plane is full of civilians!" his eyes were following the smoke from the falling plane. "Or soldier. Or enemy commander. Or fighter pilot." Cipher replied, as calm as ever. Pixy couldn't say anything, although he was sure that that plane was carrying refugees. "Besides, they will pay us for anything that goes down." Cipher then took his plane to the direction of their base. "Let's call it a day." He then added, "Buddy." Pixy froze when he heard that word.

It was at that moment he realized that he had befriended a demon.

Lying in his bed, Pixy contemplated whether or not to quit the job. But then again, his contract wouldn't permit him to. And he still had a year left with Ustio. Another year of slaughtering civilians, Pixy thought. He recalled all the buildings, the shelters Cipher destroyed on a whim while many people ran out of it. He squeezed his eyelids, trying to get the horrifying images out of his mind. Hell, he himself was a mercenary, and he knew the risk of being one is to take another people's life. But still, to see all the terror Cipher had caused, and to be called "buddy" by that demon…

"Buddy." As if on cue, Cipher called him from the door. "Hey, they say we can go downtown tonight. Want to come along? PJ and the others are going too." Looking at Cipher's face, Pixy found no trace of any demon at all. Nobody would ever suspect that that man had taken the life of God knew how many people. "So, do you want to go or not?" Cipher was still waiting in the door. He wasn't really in the mood to go out but they rarely had the chance to leave the base, so he said, "sure." And he followed his teammate.

They first went into a mall where Cipher seemed to buy everything that caught his attention. "What?" Cipher asked as Pixy watched him buying an expensive MiG-31 model. "We fly that thing everyday, we don't need that in our room too." Cipher only shrugged him off. "Just trying to enjoy my bank account before I got shot in the air." And he bought even more junks after that. Pixy could barely able to retain his tongue from commenting his leader all the time.

But when they went to a bar, Pixy couldn't stand it anymore. Cipher was really enjoying his bank account. "Everyone, refill your glass." He shouted. "It's on me." Everyone cheered for him, and Pixy snapped. He stood and hit his buddy in the face, and the crowded bar fell silent for a moment. "How many people you got to kill for a glass of beer?" he asked, looking coldly at Cipher. The other man instantly glared back, and launched a counter attack, which Pixy managed to evade. "What!?" he shouted. "You think you're better because you kill only for your daily bread!?" he lunged again, this time successfully punching Pixy's jaw.

The two of them standing face to face, while the other soldiers were either cheering on them or telling them to stop. Nobody really stepped in to stop them, though. "I don't kill innocent people for my daily bread!" Pixy shouted again, hitting Cipher's stomach, making him fell down. He then grabbed Cipher's collar. "Why…" he whispered, his voice barely audible in the noise around them. "Do you have to kill them all?" he shouted, letting go of his emotion. Cipher fell silent for a moment, and then he stared at him. His face was full of anger, full of hatred. It wasn't directed at Pixy, thought, but to something distant. Cipher then pushed Pixy off him. "Innocent?" he growled through his gritted teeth. "You think they'll give a shit?" Pixy could clearly hear the pain in his voice. "You think they'll give a shit, when you lost your family and friends, when you're lying on the ground, trying to stay alive while all the bombs explode around you!? Cipher screamed, unable to control his emotion, all the calmness that usually masked his face torn away. Just then Pixy understood what had happened to the Demon Lord.

"Because you have a terrible past, you're avenging it to the world?" he spoke more calmly, looking straight to the man in front of him. "You are more than that, buddy." Cipher stilled for a moment, then he quickly raised his fist again.

Pixy couldn't remember much after that, as Cipher lunged at him again. The rest of the night went in blur, with several more punches exchanged, before their friends dragged them back to the base. Pixy spent a couple of hours in the yard, trying to calm himself down with the cold night air. When he finally calmed down, he didn't want to go back to their room. He didn't want to see Cipher, who might be planning to strangle him by then. But he eventually felt tired and sleepy, and after few minutes of fruitless effort looking for a place to sleep, he braced himself and entered their room.

To his surprise, the light was already off. He walked toward the two stories bed and saw the Demon Lord already curled up in his bed,. He seemed to be having a nightmare, mumbling something Pixy couldn't understand. Seeing him like that, without thinking Pixy put a hand on his shoulder. After a few moments, Cipher's breath seemed to be calmer. "So you're a victim too, huh?" he said quietly, not wanting to wake him up. Suddenly a new feeling overcame his heart, confirming a resolution. "I'll end this war." Pixy whispered his oath. "I'll end this war once for all. For you too, buddy," his buddy only mumbled softly, maybe acknowledging it in his dream.

The next day, they acted like there were nothing happened, although everyone in the base stared worryingly at them. Pixy realized that the Demon Lord didn't shoot anything that moved anymore, though. Even so, Pixy held his oath strongly in his heart, that was why, in the chaos over the round table he shot a missile at his buddy, fully knowing that he would be able to dismiss it, and deserting the zone toward the territory of The World With No Boundaries. "I've found a reason to fight, buddy." he said calmly to the radio while on the other end Cipher calling his name over and over again. It's for you too, he whispered in his heart as he dived into the cerulean sky, leaving his buddy behind.

AN: phew, I finally typed it all and uploaded it. So, I know the story's a little cheesy, but I nevertheless like it ;p BTW it might be the last Ace Combat story I'll ever write, since my PS2 is sold. So I hope I can read more great AC story from to distract me from the fact that I won't fly the imaginary sky anymore ;_;


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